Humor

We all agree that the right kind of humor is right, while the wrong kind of humor is wrong. In short, good humor is good, while bad humor is bad.

The ancients believed that several humors flowed inside our bodies, and had to be kept balanced. Some of these were: blood humor, phlegm humor, black bile humor and yellow bile humor. Imbalance of the body humors would make you sick.

I believe that good, healthy humor is sparked by discovery. The detailed description of the neuro-chemistry involved if out of the scope of this discussion, and I couldn't describe it if I tried, so I'll keep it simple.

In my theory, when you learn (or discover) something new, there is an exhilarating feeling. You feel fine. You laugh, or even better, you smile. You want more of the same drug, and that's what we call humor.

When you discover something that is not new, at least to you, you feel frustrated. The best way to keep people in a good mood (or humor) is to keep them creatively discovering new and interesting things. You can call it the Eureka effect, but you don't have to.

There are also substitutes that can spark good humored responses, like a respectful and interesting joke (when you discover the punch line, you learn something and you laugh).

A disrespectful joke may also make you laugh, but it awakes dark humors (fluids) that are destructive and unhealthy, and are better avoided at the workplace and elsewhere.

And remember Homer Simpson's wise words.
"It's funnier when the joke's not on me."

Fungus